The Royal Court of Fire
by avatargurumaster
Summary: This is the story of the fire nation royal court After Sozin's comet. Many unanswered questions of the series will be addressed here. Please if you read, leave a review
1. Chapter 1

He had been born on the day of the comet. That is how the sages explained his unnatural fire bending talent. Ever since he was a child he had an affinity for his element. He fire bended for the first time when he was a week old. He was already dueling and winning against some of the palace guards by the time he was seven years old. At fourteen he defeated a dragon, a feat of bending un paralleled except by Avatar Aang's master at air bending at twelve. Aang probably being the only person born with an affinity for their element more so then himself. However the two would never meet. Word of his talent spread across the empire like rapid fire. There were so many expectations on him at one time. Later he would be amazed that he didn't collapse from such pressure.

Though the majority of that pressure came from his father, Fire Lord Sozin. He remembered his father being ancient, even when he was child. Sozin was eighty two when he was born. He remembered his father being old and bitter. For a fire bender, he had a very cold personality. As a child Azulon felt his father cared only about using him and never really loved him. When Sozin discovered Azulon's talents he forced him to train non stop.

"You will be the greatest fire bender the world has ever known, or you will die trying. This is your destiny" his father would tell him on a regular basis.

Even though Sozin was a frail old man he still could summon the power of the young and powerful fire lord he once was. Azulon knew this better then anyone. Azulon knew better then to incur the wrath of his father. Azulon learned to deal with his father and stay on his good side.

Azulon never knew who is mother was. He assumed it was one of Sozin's many mistresses. Sozin unlike many fire lords had never married. His father had no interest in a wife, only in his militaristic plans. Azulon sometimes believed that Sozin would have never had a kid if he didn't need an heir.

Sozin was obsessed with power and glory. He continuously told his son that these were the only important things in life. Azulon remembered once when he and his father were standing in front of a map of the world.

"Everything you see before you will be yours" Sozin said to him, his hand on the young boys shoulder. Azulon didn't really understand it then, but later he too would have great ambition.

Sozin's greatest obsession though was the Avatar. Azulon remembered spending much of his childhood with his father on long voyages. The voyages could last months and nothing ever came out of them. Mostly Azulon would be forced to train non stop. His father was obsessed with finding the Avatar. The old fire lord claimed that they could never secure victory over the world until the Avatar was out of the picture.

Azulon nearly met his father's wrath when he stated that, "The avatar is most likely dead, he probably died with the other air benders" Sozin's face turned to pure rage but he quickly calmed down.

"The sages have confirmed that the Avatar hasn't been reborn. He's alive and he's out there. I won't stop until the day he bows to me and you won't stop either" Sozin said with true passion.

Azulon hated those voyages more then anything. There was no one there his age, not that he was a really social kid anyway. Azulon never did have friends as a child. He also had no escape from his Father's constant supervision. His father was never satisfied with his performance. His father wanted to push Azulon's prodigal skills to their max potential. He could perform a set of fire bending forms perfectly but it wasn't good enough for his father.

"Do it again Prince Azulon!" Sozin yelled.

They were sailing around the north western earth kingdom. Azulon was ten years old at the time. It had been one of the only areas in the earth kingdom that was in complete control of by the fire nation. After ten years of war they hadn't made huge amounts of progress other than the destruction of the air nomads.

"But father I did it perfectly" Azulon complained. His father's face twisted into rage.

"Its not perfect unless I say it is! Prince Azulon, you will drill again, or you I will have you thrown over board" Sozin said. Azulon knew better then to take that threat lightly. On the voyages he had seen many soldiers be brutally punished for incompetence.

Azulon sighed and repeated the form.

It had been six years since that day. Azulon was no longer a small child under his father's thumb. He was now a sixteen year old young man as well as a master fire bender. He was one of the best benders, if not the best, in the entire world. He had already earn the title of dragon and was well respected within the fire nation court.

He was sitting in his room dressing himself. His room was very simple for the room of a prince. It wasn't furnished with anything more then a cot and a dresser for his clothes. There was a window door that led to his balcony and that was it. Azulon did like fancy furniture and decorations. He felt those things unnecessary. Besides he spent little time in the room anyway. He spent most of his time sparring and learning war strategy in the library.

"_I'm a warrior, warriors don't need expensive things. I crave battle" Azulon thought to himself._

Battle was exactly what the young prince was craving. He had been stuck in the palace for more then a year now. Except for his victory over the dragon, Azulon had been relatively bored in the capitol. He had asked his father numerous times if he could see action on the war front but his father had ignored his requests. He assumed his father ignored his request because Sozin lacked any relatives and if Azulon died then the bloodline would die with him. That was why today was so important. His father had ordered an important meeting with him. Azulon didn't know what it was about but he hoped his father would give him a mission. Today could be the day he could finally get out of here.

He began to tie his boots. Most of the nobles had servants do these type of tasks but Azulon hated servants. He felt that only the weak needed people to menial tasks he could do himself. Azulon finished putting the top not in his hair. He then walked out of the room and closed it. He strolled through the palace in his armor. As he passed through the courtyard he saw a few nobles chatting.

"_Ugh how I despise those free loading nobles. None of them are out there fighting in the war or even helping. And the ones who are spend their time complaining because its not as fun as they thought it would be. All they care about is stupid things like buying self portraits and going to balls. The first thing I'll do as fire lord is rid myself of them" Azulon thought to himself._

One of the noble girls smiled at him. She was a pretty young girl. She had golden eyes and silky brown hair. Azulon wasn't an ugly boy at all. He had silky black hair and golden eyes. His skin was pale in comparison to his jet black hair. He was naturally a tall and lanky boy unlike his father however his intense training had caused him to fill out and become more muscular. However Azulon scowled back at the girl. He had no interest in women, a trait he inherited from his father. He continued to walk until he reached the throne chamber. Two guards were posted outside the door. They stood straight. The first guard recognized him immediately.

"Prince Azulon, the Fire Lord is expecting you" the guard said to him before bowing. Azulon nodded and walked into the throne room. He immediately felt more comfortable with all the fire surrounding him. He always did when surrounded by his element He had been in this room numerous times. Most people were intimidated while in here, but Azulon felt a strange sense of serenity. He could see the silhouette of his father in the throne. He walked slowly up to the wall of flames. He bowed down toward his father.

"Rise my loyal son" Sozin said with his ever weakening voice. Azulon followed the command. He looked into his father's ancient face. His hair was as pale as his skin which was full of wrinkles and splotches.

"What is your bidding, father" Azulon said.

"A week ago I received an intelligence report from General Lee-Sung in the earth kingdom. There are rumors that a few air benders survived the attacks during Sozin's comet, three to be exact. I can't send just anyone to get them because the element of surprise is important. This situation requires precision and swiftness. I need you to go there and eliminate the last of the air benders" Sozin said.

"I accept this mission, thank you for the opportunity father" Azulon said.

"Failure is not an option, if you fail you are as good as banished" Sozin said in a warning tone.

"What resources are at my disposal?" Azulon asked. He was trying to keep from smiling. He had been waiting for something like this for years.

"The 501st battalion is ready for you. They are an entire battalion of new recruits. I assume you'll be able to train them to your standards" Azulon said. (AN: I'm such a star wars nerd for this XD)

"Yes that is great, I will not fail you father" Azulon said, his voice full of hope and determination.

"Good my son, your troops and your ship await you at the harbor" Sozin said. Azulon bowed again before turning to leave.

"Prince Azulon wait, if one of the air benders turns out to be the Avatar, bring them to me alive" Sozin said. Azulon nodded.

Azulon walked out of the throne room with a small smile on his face. He was finally getting the opportunity he always wanted. He walked outside to the court yard He mounted a kimodo rhino and headed toward the harbor. He could have ridden a palanquin but that was yet another thing he felt was for the weak. As he passed through the capitol city he saw many people cheering for him. Azulon wasn't one for attention and attempted to ignore the masses.

When he arrived at the harbor he found the 501st. They were a rough looking bunch. They were sitting on the dock by the ship playing cards and talking. They were all new recruits however all the combat soldiers were fire benders. There were eighty fire benders and twenty supplementary soldiers( cooks, medics, ship maintenance etc) He knew it would take some work to bring the troops up to speed. He found the captain of the battalion standing next to the ramp to the ship. The troops were all looking at him now. One of them had spotted him and the entire battalion knew of his presence in moments. The battalion became silent. They immediately straightened themselves up. None of them had ever been in the presence of a member of the royal family.

"Captain, I am Prince Azulon and I will be commanding this battalion" Azulon said to the captain. The captain however didn't bow to him as was custom. The soldiers all looked surprised and slightly afraid. Azulon looked at him, his gaze shifting from neutral to serious.

"There is no way I'm taking orders from a child. I don't care if he's a spoiled prince. I'm a soldier and deserve better" the captain said. He was a larger man wearing a traditional fire navy uniform. His beard was the same color as his black shoulder spikes. He'd obviously seen battle before which was evident from a scar or two on his face.

"You best learn respect Captain, or suffer the consequences" Azulon said coldly. The last thing he wanted to be dealing with right now was insubordination.

"I'm going to meet with the fire lord right now to ask about this" the captain started. However before he could finish his statement the Fire Prince had extended his palm toward the man's chest. With one flick flames shot out of his palm like flamethrower. The captain ignited into flames and disappeared under the wave of fire shooting out of Azulon's palm. When the fire stopped the captain lay, a burnt mess on the stone dock. He was twitching in pain. He was burned badly and the stone beneath had scorch marks. Azulon raised his foot and proceeded to kick the man of the dock and into the water where he sank.

He turned to the soldiers, "Does anyone else agree with the captain because they can easily join him" Azulon said. None of the soldiers responded. They stood perfectly still and silent. They were all very scared, some of them were even sweating.

"Good. Board the ships, we set sail at noon" Azulon said. Azulon headed into the tower of the ship. It was one of the new models of the fire navy ships. It was built to go eighty percent faster then the original model. It wasn't big and was only meant to hold one battalion rather than three like the original ships.

He found a his room at the top of the tower right below the navigation room. It was very basic and he felt instantly comfortable in it. A messenger hawk was sitting in the center of the room. He pulled the scrolls out of its pocket and read them. They were the intelligence reports about the air benders.

_There are rumors that three air benders are being given asylum in the Qin province in a town called Wufong. The province is in the control of the earth kingdom but there are holes in there front line. The province is a mostly mountainous state. Wufong is located on the side of one of the many mountains. It is a small mountain with little defenses. Two of the air benders are female while the other is male. None of them have sky bison..._

Azulon stopped reading the scroll and decided to continue it later. He decided to take a nap so that he would have plenty of energy to command the crew in the maiden voyage of the ship.


	2. Chapter 2

Azulon watched as the sun rose over the horizon. It was one of the simple pleasures that Azulon indulged in. He appreciated the beauty of the rising son and loved the feeling of his increasing power. The sun was the most powerful source of fire and Azulon had a connection to it.

"Prince Azulon" a member of his crew said kneeling to the royal heir.

"Yes" Azulon responded, sad that his solidarity had been interupted.

"We'll be docking in the earth kingdom in an hour or so. General Mouzu's camp is located right up the hill from the port. Would you like to request a meeting with him" the soldier said.

"I don't request anything from my subjects. I will meet with the General or there will be consequences" Azulon said. The soldier nodded and left to send a messenger hawk.

The last two weeks at sea had gone smoothly. After Azulon's demonstration with the captain the men were completely obidiant. Azulon used the time at sea to train his battalion. He taught them more advanced fire bending techniques and sparred with them for practice. The men for the most part liked Azulon. Although he wasn't the nicest person and didn't tolerate anything less then perfection Azulon had made an impression on the men. He ate meals with them and helped them with the upkeep of the ship. The men felt that Azulon was one of them.

"Word has it that General Mouzu is planning to defeat the Qin province very soon" Lee said from behind.

Lee was the youngest member of the battalion. Like Azulon, he was also 16. Lee grew up in a farming family in the west Fire Nation. He was the most talented fire bender of any of the soldiers and Azulon saw potential in him. He was loyal and determined. Azulon would spar with him for hours on end. Lee would be beaten each time but he kept sparring because he hoped to improve.

"This battalion is going to need a captain" Azulon said ignoring Lee's previous remark.

"Well you kind of fried the one we had" Lee said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I want you to be the captain of the 501st" Azulon said, his voice completely serious.

"Me...but I'm so young" Lee said nervous.

"You have a lot potential and a lot of spirit. I need someone I can trust to be the captain of this battalion" Azulon said.

"You can count on me Prince Azulon" Lee said with new found confidence.

***********2 hours later at General Mouzu's camp**********

General Mouzu was a tall and strong man. He was one of the Fire Nation's best Generals and had been placed in charge of the Qin invasion force by the fire lord himself. Mouzu had seen many battles in his years as a soldier. He had witnessed the air nomad genocide during the comet and fought in many of the early battles in the western earth kingdom. The fire nation progress after the initial comet strike hadn't been great. So far they hadn't managed to secure much of the earth kingdom except for some coastal towns and ports. Mouzu hoped he would be the one to change that. He was sitting in his war room with his top commanders. He had ten thousand troops ready at his command for the invasion of Qin, the single largest force ever assembled so far in the war.

"All troops are ready for deployment sir" A lower ranked officer said.

"My scouts say that the earth kingdom defenses don't know we've assembled such a force" the commander of scouts replied.

"Then we attack at midnight. They won't be expecting the attack and we can get them by surprise. Colonel Chan will lead the 51st in through the center of the province. My men will flank from the east and Commander Ozo's men will attack from the west. We'll trap them and then burn their towns to the ground" Mouzu said.

The entire room erupted into applause at the plan.

"We attack at midnight!" Mouzu said putting his fist up.

"Delay that order" a voice said from the back of the tent. Mouzu immediately turned to see who would dare compromise his authority. Prince Azulon stood at the entrance to the tent. Mouzu and the rest of the commanding officers bowed before the crowned prince.

"Prince Azulon, what brings you here? Why shouldn't we attack? By the end of the week we shall control the entire province" Mouzu said confused about the Prince's command.

"Oh we will control the province by the week's end. But I need you to delay the order until tomorrow at noon" Azulon said.

"Why? What have you discovered" Mouzu asked.

"I have been sent here by my father to secure fugitives hiding in the Qin province. If you attack before I reach them they will be warned of our advance and escape. I need to go in and secure them. I'll have done the job by noon tomorrow" Azulon said.

"Yes that sounds perfect my lord. Is there anything I can do to help" Mouzu said now kneeling on one knee.

"I need to know if there is a way to sneak past the earth kingdom front line. The fugitives are in a town called Wufong. Its a few miles from here but behind the front line" Azulon said.

"My scouts discovered a hole in the line. Its small enough for a battalion or two to get through but not enough for the entire invasion force" the commander of scouts replied.

"That's perfect, me and my men will infiltrate the city and eliminate the targets. At noon tomorrow you may strike" Azulon said before walking out the tent.

*********** Sometime Early the next morning before Dawn outside Wufong************

Azulon and the 501st were camped out in the forest. Wufong was only a few minutes away. Azulon had just finished talking with a scout who was surveying the town. Azulon and his battalion sat in the clearing in darkness. Azulon had commanded that no one was to fire bend and that no one was to start a fire. Azulon didn't want to give away their cover with smoke. The men were dressed in their army uniforms, complete with shoulder spikes and white masks. Only Azulon and Lee wore different uniforms. Azulon's uniform was more streamlined so that he could more easily fight.

"Okay men, the town is at rest. The villagers are all asleep in their homes. In a few moments we will spread out and infiltrate the village from all sides. It is imperative that you are not seen. Check each of the houses through the windows for the targets. This village is being protected by the Earth Kingdom army so don't worry about encountering any soldiers" Azulon said only loudly enough for the men to hear. The men nodded in comprehension. Lee gave the signal and the men spread out around the village in the forest.

"Lee follow me" Azulon said.

The young captain complied and the two began to approach the village entrance. Azulon signaled Lee and they both quietly entered. They ducked around the small houses. They looked into each house only finding women and children sleeping. They kept this up making their way toward the center of the town. At the center they saw a large two story building. It was the meeting hall for the village. Azulon signaled for the men to hold back.

"Stay with me" Azulon said to Lee.

The two began to scale the side of the meeting hall using the window ledges to climb. They looked into different windows and found mostly ceremonial things and farming equipment.

"I found them" Lee said pointing to one of the windows. Azulon climbed up to the window Lee was hanging from. He looked in to see three air nomads sleeping on the floor. There was a young man, and hold man, and a woman who looked to be in her late twenties.

"Tell the men to secure the perimeter of the town. Have a few other secure every entrance and exit of this building. Instruct them to kill anyone who attempts to escape either this building or the village" Azulon said.

"Right, I'll meet you back here in a few minutes" Lee said climbing down from the meeting hall. Azulon jumped into the room silently. The air benders were still asleep and didn't notice his intrusion. He decided to wait until sunrise, when his bending was stronger, to confront the air nomads. He walked out into the hallway and sat down to wait.

(A/N: Aloi is the air bending woman. She is also a character from my other story Book 4 air. You don't have to read that story to understand her character. If you didn't read Book 4 air all you need to know is that she is an air bending friend of Aang's. They were the same age before Aang was frozen)

Aloi turned her head as the sun's rays hit her face. She opened her eyes to see the room just as it was the night before. She sat up and saw Master Matso also beginning to stir. She got up and walked over to where Muji was sleeping. She began to shake him so that he woke up.

"What's wrong?" Muji asked wearily.

"I'm just checking your bandages" Aloi said. She opened his shirt and checked on the bandages that lined his torso.

"These burns are probably going to leave a scar" Muji said.

"Its better then being dead. Its a miracle you survived. I'd prefer we didn't run into fire benders again" Aloi said.

"Well we may not have a choice about that one" Matso said looking out the window.

"Why not?" Aloi asked. Matso motioned for her to look out the window. Aloi looked out to see a battalion of fire benders had surrounded the village. Many of the villagers had been rounded up and forced into the center of the village"

"The building is surrounded. They know we're here" Matso said.

"We have to go then" Muji said struggling to stand up.

"How? We don't have a sky bison and we are totally outnumbered" Aloi said grabbing her staff.

"Ah your awake" A voice said from the doorway. Aloi watched as the fire nation soldier walked into the room. She immediately could tell he was different then the others. His uniform was more streamlined and he was much younger then a typical soldier. A second walked in. He too was young but he was wearing a captain's uniform. The first boy had a serious and intimidating disposition. But the second still had the disposition of an innocent boy.

"You are my prisoners" the first soldier said.

"What now, do you kill us like you killed our people" Muji said angrily.

"Not necessarily, if you cooperate then you may end up living" the first soldier said.

"What could you want from us?" Matso asked.

"You are going to tell everything you know about the Avatar" the first soldier said. The word avatar had an immediate effect on Aloi. Her eyes widened as her mind immediately shot to the image of her friend. The boy she hadn't seen in sixteen years. The boy she had spent the last sixteen years looking for. The boy who could stop the war.

"We nothing about him. No air bender does. He hadn't been revealed yet when you attacked our people" Muji said bitterly.

"Why do you want him anyway? He's obviously gone" Matso said.

"He and you are the last of the air benders. The fire nation has wiped out all of your people. When he dies air bending dies" the first soldier said coldly. The words hit Matso like a punch to the gullet.

"We know nothing of him" Aloi said quietly.

"You lie" the first soldier said coldly.

"She's right we know nothing!" Matso yelled. Azulon raised his hand. His palm faced the older man. In a flash the old man was down on the ground. Smoke billowed out of the wound on his chest where the fireball had just exploded.

"Noo!" Muji yelled as he clinged to his dying coughed and struggled. He turned his head toward the first soldier.

Matso addressed the first soldier, "You will die a lonely broken old man, killed by those closest to him." As the last words came out of his mouth his eyes closed. Muji's eyes were full of tears. Aloi's mind was spinning. Matso was dead.

"Now are you prepared to talk" the first soldier said again.

Aloi gripped her staff tighter. She shifted her ankle and then whipped her arms. A gust of air blasted the rooms furniture toward the door. The soldiers were caught off guard but blasted the furniture with fire before it could hit them. Muji and Aloi used the opportunity to run toward the window. Muji had grabbed his staff from the side and was right behind Aloi. Aloi jumped out the window first followed by Muji.

Azulon watched as the air bending woman lept out the window extending her glider. The boy jumped right after but Azulon was ready. He shot foward a strong concentrated blast of fire. The blast hit the boy in the back just as he had extended his glider. The boy plummeted straight down from the window and landed in a crumpled burning heap. The girl looked back with a look of horror.

"Stop her!" Azulon yelled from the window. He jumped straight out the window and rolled into the street below. The 501st shot fire blast in every direction at the girl in the air. One of them hit the tail of her glider and she started to decline falling into the trees outside the forest. Azulon took off at full speed toward the forest. When he arrived the girl had just jumped down from the trees and was running through the woods. Azulon tried to keep up but she was using her air bending to increase her speed. He heard the sound of water and saw that he was coming up on a river. Azulon shot fire blast toward the girl but she managed to dodge them. As they came to the river she leaped with her full strength. Azulon stopped at the shore and watched as she just barely managed to land on the other side. She disappeared into the woods.

Azulon stood at the river bank in shock. He couldn't believe he had just been bested by an air nomad. He had failed his mission and dishonored himself as a warrior. He vowed to himself to make her pay for this disgrace. He would follow her to the ends of the earth to make her pay. He wouldn't stop until he had killed the last air bender.


End file.
